New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-02-27
AMERICANS AT COURT.
OLD CUSTOMS AND NEW RULES ABOUT
PRESENTATION.

Americans male and female, at the Court OF st.
flames has once more been raised. 10 is remarl<a-
BILE, or perhaps it is not remarkable but W Is the
fact, that the number OF American apphca1io's
ljr presentation increases every year Heretofore
there has been fixed numerical limit to these
aspirations The United States Minister was en-
titled to submit to the Lord Chamberlain Ger
tain number of candidates for each Drawiis
Room. and no more. This restriction releNeu
him from embarrassment In one way, put aooeo
to his difficulties in another III ehaoico inni y"
say to a pressing cOuntryman or uh1ry"oin"h
that nothing would give him greater pleasure
than to hand in his or her name Tor the Lord
Chamberlains approval, were IL not that the lst
was already full. On the other hand, the list was
sometimes full when at the eleventh hour per-
son Of distinction appeared on the scene whose
presentation was in itself a desirable thing Then
Ayain there are people, even OF American nation
atty, unreasonable that no reason statistics
them. If they went to buy tickets at a theatre
and were told that not vacant place remained
they would grumble because the architect had not
considered their wishes when he planned the
structure. They have grumbled loudly on being
assured that for the performance at Buckingham
Palace which they wished to honor with their
presence there was no longer any room. be-
heve that the evaporation Of disappointment has
led more than one OF them to express doubt
whether the limitations Of Court etiquette were
really so arbitrary as the American Minister be-
heved them to be.
Why the transient American in London has set
his heart On going to Court has never been fully
explained. myself am unable to explain it.
Decisions of the most singular kind seem to
possess the individuals whom this ambition
seizes; to be followed by bitter disillusons. 1t
may be worth while to say explicitly that pres
entatiOn to the Queen at Drawing Room Is
not rule followed Immediately even after
interval by an invitation to Windsor Castle
or by hint that Her Majesty would be glad to
have the newcomers spend week two with
her at Balmorsu They not asked to
drop in at tea-time. The Queen does not call
upon them at their hotel She does not send
them tickets to the royal box at the opera or
the pantOmime. She manfests no interest
in Mr. Jones or the little Jonescs when Mrs
Jones makes her courtesy before her. 1t is as
tOnishing how little curiosity royal personages
have and how little they care to know about the
royalty-lov1ng republicans who offer them their
homage. There are Americans who know all this |
very well, but who nevertheless seek to be pre-
sented in the belief that they will reap, IL not
future royal recognition, lesser social benefit
from IL. They too, as O rule, wrong. That
pretty young Mrs. Brown who has travelled all
the way from Minnesota to conquer the London |
world. may conquer IT, may not. but her triumph
win not come % her via Buckingham Palace. II
she conquers her social position first, 1t may be
desirable for her to be seen at Court. Ii She
comes to London all unknowing and unknown
and goes to o Drawing Room, she win be just rs
unknown the MORROW she WIS the day be
fore. True, her beauty may be Of that dazzling
kind which attracts the notice OF roy
atty, and is mentioned by royalty, and O
word from princely lips may start Mrs. Brown on
that slippery path trodden at intervals by the
professional beauty who, whatever may be said
is not yet quite extinct. II is q path which some
times leads downward. The chances OF such d
career for American debutante perhaps
rather greater than her chances of being struck
by lightning. In any case the proportion Of pro-
fessional beauties to the whole number Of pretty
Americans who have been presented at Court is
not great The proportion Of those who have be
come such by means Of and account OF their
presentation is stl less They may be left out
Of the computation We must be content with
averages. TIC rule, not the exception, is what
concerns us and the rule is that for social pur-
poses presentation amounts TO nothin,. Pretty
Mrs. Brown. Of Minnesota, goes TO the Drawing
Room, sees her namc-one OF many hundreds-iD
next mornings paper, regards it with rapture. be
lieyes that the British Aristocracy have long been
on the lookout for it and now hail II with rapture
not less than her own, and listens all day long
for the postmans tattoo In the blssful expecta
ton Of coroncted Invitations TO dinners and
dances. The postman comes punctualy, but the
Invitations, with without the cOrOnet do not
1t cannot be said too plainly too often that
mere presence at Court IS to stranger Ia London
OF absolutely avail for general social purposes
Well, out there are Court enterta ailments Of
various kinds Court Balls, State Concerts al
Buckingham Palace, Garden Parties one year
at Marlborough House, and the like. Yes, dear
Mrs. Brown, there are but not even to these high
have secured you invitation. Ii you knew
The American Minister you might ask him TO get
you card. Mrs. Robinson whom you detest,
once asked, though she did not know him and
was very properly refused. BY knowing him !
do not mean having brought him letter OF intro
ductlOn from q member Of the Minnesota Lea1s-
laturc. who has found means to acquant himself
with the name but not with the proper style Of
address, Of the individual who happens at the
moment Of your tour abroad to represent tho
Government Of the United States at the Court Of
St. James. You may be very that your
Minister win require pretty full credentials from
somebody he himself knows, and not merely from
somebody who knows him. This Is o distinction
not always observed. but the less important
Happy in the personal acquaintance and esteem
Of the American Minister. tho American who has
gone through the proper formalities may secure
an admission to some Of these festivals. So may
personages Of public and real distinction. Each
may, with these calculations, estimate whit his
own chances may heretofore have been Of attend
ing q State Concert or Court Ball / put it In
the past tense because, as 1 began by saying
questions relating to presentation have been
raised again and are henceforward to be answered
In new way.
The American Minister has found the number
of applications for presentation at Court increas
Ing SO largely that he has brought Tie subject
- H. o< thn InrH hon al, in
order that it may be distinctly understood how
far such presentations would be acceptable to the